Verb Tenses in the Active Voice

Click HERE for a table describing the appropriate sequence of tenses.

	Singular	Plural
Simple tenses Indicate that an action is present, past or future relative to the speaker or writer.
Present
1st person	I walk/draw	we walk/draw
2nd person	you walk/draw	you walk/draw
3rd person	he/she/it   walks/draws	they walk/draw
Past
1st person	I walked/drew	we walked/drew
2nd person	you walked/drew	you walked/drew
3rd person	he/she/it   walked/drew	they walked/drew
Future
1st person	I will walk/draw	we will walk/draw
2nd person	you will walk/draw	you will walk/draw
3rd person	he/she/it will   walk/draw	they will walk/draw
Perfect tenses Indicate that an action was or will be completed before another time or action.
Present perfect
1st person	I have walked/drawn	we have walked/drawn
2nd person	you have walked/drawn	you have walked/drawn
3rd person	he/she/it has   walked/drawn	they have walked/drawn
Past perfect
1st person	I had walked/drawn	we had walked/drawn
2nd person	you had walked/drawn	you had walked/drawn
3rd person	he/she/it had   walked/drawn	they had walked/drawn
Future perfect
1st person	I will have walked/drawn	we will have walked/drawn
2nd person	you will have walked/drawn	you will have walked/drawn
3rd person	he/she/it will have   walked/drawn	they will have walked/drawn
Progressive tenses Indicate continuing action.
Present progressive
1st person	I am walking/drawing	we are walking/drawing
2nd person	you are walking/drawing	you are walking/drawing
3rd person	he/she/it is   walking/drawing	they are walking/drawing
Past progressive
1st person	I was walking/drawing	we were walking/drawing
2nd person	you were walking/drawing	you were walking/drawing
3rd person	he/she/it was   walking/drawing	they were walking/drawing
Future progressive
1st person	I will be walking/drawing	we will be walking/drawing
2nd person	you will be walking/drawing	you will be walking/drawing
3rd person	he/she/it will be   walking/drawing	they will be walking/drawing
Present perfect progressive
1st person	I have been   walking/drawing	we have been   walking/drawing
2nd person	you have been   walking/drawing	you have been   walking/drawing
3rd person	he/she/it has been   walking/drawing	they have been   walking/drawing
Past perfect progressive
1st person	I had been   walking/drawing	we had been   walking/drawing
2nd person	you had been   walking/drawing	you had been   walking/drawing
3rd person	he/she/it had been   walking/drawing	they had been   walking/drawing
Future perfect progressive
1st person	I will have been   walking/drawing	we will have been   walking/drawing
2nd person	you will have been   walking/drawing	you will have been   walking/drawing
3rd person	he/she/it will have been   walking/drawing	they will have been   walking/drawing

Guide to Grammar and Writing